Parent Pages: Rules : Advantages

Initiate of the Arcane Order

3 points
Prerequisites: Latin: Spoken (Broken)/Written (Accented), Thaumatology 10, Magery 30.

You are an initiate in the Arcane Order of Enchantment and Exposition, often called the Arcane Order or Wizard's Guild for brevity. Initiates are effectively the rank and file of the Guild. They're the equivalent of undergraduate students at a regular university in the real world.

This gives several benefits:

  • Access to the Arcane Order's Grand Library. This includes all common and many uncommon spells less than or equal to 44 points.
  • Once a year, an initiate may call upon both the library and their teachers to aid in the detailed study of a spell. This provides a +2 to the roll to learn a new spell. It can also provide a second chance at learning a spell, without the penalty for repeated attempts, including the +2. This process takes two weeks, with the roll to learn at the end of that time. This is in addition to the bonus for taking extra time.
  • All initiates receive a Cassock of Precaution: a special magical item and the distinctive dress of a member of the Arcane Order. This is recharged by the college every month (requiring a visit to college grounds). The Arcane Order has a reputation for being helpful and powerful, so Initiates wearing a Cassock of Precaution receive the benefits of Social Regard 1 (Respected).
  • Access to the Spellcrux.
  • The Arcane Order provides initiates with a private (but smallish) room in the college. They usually live there when not adventuring.
  • Opportunity to learn Aleph I, the first lore of the Language Primeval.
  • Opportunity to learn spells restricted to Guild members.

While these benefits are very nice, they don't come without a price. Members of the Arcane Order have several responsibilities and a magically bound oath that they must follow:

  • Each initiate is assigned a guild wizard that acts as their Advisor. They guide the development of the young wizard's spell-casting and assign them duties, including: acting as a laboratory technician, teaching assistant, mandatory attendance of appropriate classes, field expeditions, oversight of apprentices, and other miscellaneous similar duties. These duties may be suspended for adventuring initiates, but will be required while they're on college grounds for more than a few hours.
  • Tutoring is the other general duty of initiates. Initiates each take turns lecturing apprentices of the Arcane Order. For this reason, learning the Teaching skill is eventually required. The subjects of these lectures are often based on the initiate's particular areas of expertise, but are just as often about general spell-casting technique. The initiate must return at least once a year for three weeks to give these lectures, if adventuring is their chosen path. This is actually part of the Initiate's Oath (see below).
  • Aside from the tutoring requirement mentioned above, the Initiate's Oath requires two additional things and is magically binding. Initiates may not knowingly betray the Arcane Order. Revealing the existence of the Spellcrux or Aleph constitutes betrayal. Sharing Guild restricted spells with non-guild wizards counts, as well. Initiates also agree to remain a member of the Arcane Order for at least four years.
  • 10% of an Initiate's profits must be paid to the Guild. Attempting to hide profits results in confiscation of 50% to 100% of those profits and some form of punishment.

The Initiate's Oath functions as a combination of a Major Vow and a Secret, but is also effectively a Divine Curse. The oath cannot be disobeyed unless removed. The Arcane Order will not remove it and no one else would have the expertise required, as Aleph is used in the magic. This is so powerful that it actually alters the mind of the recipient, but the lasting effects are not magical.

When it comes to divulging Wizard's Guild secrets, this makes them immune to normal methods (torture and the like) used to extract information and provides a +8 bonus to resist any other method, such as magic or psionics, used for extracting information. Treat this as if enhanced with Cosmic. Trickery has normal chances of success.

This advantage is a collection of advantages and disadvantages. This can be broken down as follows: Patron (The Arcane Order, very powerful organization, library access, 6 or less) [10], Social Regard 1 (Respected, Only while wearing Cassock of Precaution) [5], Spellcrux Focus [10], Duty (As assigned by Advisor, Tutoring, Involuntary, 6 or less) [-7], Initiate's Oath [-15]

The appearance rolls for these assume that the mage is an adventurer and thus, duties only come up when they visit Mathghamhna on Arcanus for more than a few hours. These may be modified for those that remain on grounds more often.

Most Initiates are on college grounds 24/7.

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